XI FIP World Polo Championship – Day 5

A Latin American final: Chile and Argentina will battle to be the World Champions

After a day with a staggering total of four world-class polo matches at the Sydney Polo Club, named “Super Saturday” by the organizers, Argentina and Chile emerged victorious from their respective zones and will face each other tomorrow in a thrilling contest to take home the Cup of the XI. FIP WORLD POLO CHAMPIONSHIP SYDNEY 2017.

The day started 10 am with the match between India and New Zealand. An entertaining game in which India managed to stay on top of the game for the most part of it. India got to the last chukka 8-6. But then, something unexpected happened: New Zealand buckled up and scored three times in a row two minutes from the final bell, and, the last of those three goals, was precisely when the bells were tolling. The final score was 9-8.

Later on, at 12 pm, it was the turn of USA to face Spain. The USA was able to dominate the match from the start. It was a relatively easy match for the Americans, who scored 15 goals and played their best game so far. Spain tried to get up to speed, but the USA was relentless in attack, and the match ended 15-9,5.

Spain: Jaime Serra, Mario Gomez, Pelayo Berazadi, Jose Trenor

USA: Matias González, Jesse Bray, Felipe Viana, James Wright

India vs. New Zealand (Photo courtesy of USPAGL by Marcos Cerdeira for PoloLine)

At 2 pm, the crowd was summoned to the International Court of the Australian Club. England beat Chile on a great match, on which the Latin American team started off considerably good with four goals, but later on, was barely unable to score due to the significant effort the English made to prevent goal situations from their opponents. The final score was 8-5 in favor of the Englishmen, but unfortunately, the goal difference was not enough to give them the pass to the finals, and by points, Chile secured its spot.

Chile: José Martinez, Jose Zegers, Andrés Vial, José Pereira

England: Ed Banner-Eve, Satnam Dhillon, Henry Porter, Peter Webb

The last match of the day was the most cheered one: the local team played against the best team in the Championship so far, Argentina. The South American powerhouse was superior and managed to keep the Australians at bar throughout the match. The final score, giving the blue-shirted team an easy pass to the finals, 9-5,5.

The day was complete, with several entertainment options such as a fashion show, live show for kids, and the evening closed with a live show by Bobby Valentine, Ollie McGill & Marty Rose.

The grand final between Chile and Argentina will be played tomorrow at 3 pm. But before that, during the morning at 11 am, the USA will face England for the third place. In between these two matches, the club prepared an explosive cocktail of live shows, most precisely 5 in a row, and a dressage demonstration to make sure the crowd can enjoy a full last day at the Sydney Polo Club. The final and most-awaited day will also close with a live entertainment show.